No matter how vast and tumultuous the crowds assembled for its most
spectacular sequences, no matter what the cost and care lavished on its
re-creation of vanished epochs, no matter how vividly it realizes the
violence of great historical forces caught up in deadly conflict, the
epic cinema finally depends on small mattersthe touch of a hand, a
look in the eyes, a whisper of dialogueto make a lasting emotional
connection with its audience. This is particularly true of films about
figures whose claim on...